Turismo de Islas Canarias is launching the summer campaign aimed at domestic tourism again with the aim of ensuring that Canary Island residents stay in summer on their islands to enjoy their land and boost the economy and sustainability of the archipelago.
"The prioritization of this segment is essential to guarantee the resilience of the destination in the face of the challenges facing the sector and the situation of instability in Europe that has been generated by geopolitical conflicts," explains Councilor Jéssica de León.
According to data handled by Turismo de Canarias, the tourist consumption of Canary Island households has an estimated impact of 2,000 million euros in the archipelago, which represents around 10% of the total tourist demand.
"Domestic tourism is not only relevant for this volume of business that it generates in the Canary Islands, but above all for the role it plays in the so-called green islands, which have a more sustained tourist development," says De León. Taking into account only traditional tourist establishments, residents represented almost 70% of those staying in El Hierro, more than 40% in La Gomera and 23% in La Palma.
'Stay with what excites you'
To promote travel between the islands, Turismo de Canarias will launch the campaign 'Stay with what excites you', which will be active from July 1 to August 15 to "promote tourist consumption by residents within the archipelago, using an emotional tone that seeks to connect with Canarians through a message that appeals to the discovery and enjoyment of our land," details the managing director of Turismo de Islas Canarias, José Juan Lorenzo.
The campaign, which is allocated one million euros financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will be activated on television, radio, print and digital media, as well as on social networks. This is a multi-channel strategy that will allow reaching the local community through various advertising formats that will land in the planner of holaislascanarias.com, where users can select what emotion or type of trip they want to experience and on which island through a selection of tailor-made plans and valuable information.
The summer of the residents
According to the INE's Resident Tourism Survey, in 2023 62% of the summer holidays of Canary Island residents were destined for the archipelago itself, with an average stay of 8.8 days and an expenditure per tourist and trip of 484 euros.
Regarding with whom they spent their summer holidays, the residents who did so as a family stand out, as 40% traveled with their children, while 15% traveled as a couple, 13% did so alone and 10% with friends.
Regarding the type of accommodation chosen, 35% rented the house from a private individual, 33% stayed in houses of family or friends, 22% in a hotel or apartment and only 5% stayed in a property of their own.
For 41% of residents, the main motivation for the trip was to enjoy the sun and the beach. Among the activities carried out during their holidays in the Canary Islands, 80% were on the beach; 29% visited family and friends; 21% went shopping; 19% went hiking and 17% visited natural areas.
Maritime and air connections
To promote this domestic tourism, shipping companies will reinforce maritime connections between the islands. Fred. Olsen Express will offer 2,000 trips in July and August between all routes and expects to exceed 350,000 passengers. For its part, Naviera Armas, which has connections on all the islands, will make more than 3,800 departures in July, August and September.
Also the inter-island air capacity in July, August and September will be very positive, with more than 1.8 million seats, 3.4% above the same period of 2023.